NAIROBI, Kenya, February 7, 2024 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/-The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved, on December 14, 2023 in Abidjan, the 2024-2028 Country Strategy Paper for the Kenya.
For the period 2023 and 2028, the African Development Bank will support Kenya in the sectors of transport, water, economic governance and skills development.
The institution plans to focus its actions in two priority areas over the next five years: on the one hand, stimulating private sector-led growth through infrastructure development and strategic reforms and, on the other hand, developing the human capital. These areas will complement each other and build on what has already been achieved with the Bank’s assistance, while continuing to support Kenya’s vision for structural transformation and building resilience.
“Our support, within the framework of this new Country Strategy Paper 2024-2028, will be selectively focused on four sectors: transport, water, economic governance and skills development,” explained Zerihun Gudeta Alemu, Chief Country Economist of the African Development Bank in Kenya.
To stimulate growth, African Development Bank interventions should reduce the cost and duration of transport, improve access to water and sanitation services at lower cost, and increase agricultural production capacity through irrigation to combat food insecurity in the country.
The Bank will also finance operations in the energy sector to support private sector development and reduce the cost of doing business. Among the main expected results are the improvement of transit time for public service vehicles from 40 kilometers per hour in 2022 to 60 km/hour in 2028 but also the reduction in the cost of transport from 0.85 to 0.50 dollars per vehicle per kilometer, and the increase in water treatment capacity by the industrial sector from 1,000 m3 per day in 2022 to 6,000 m3/day in 2028.
In terms of human capital development, the Bank will support the Kenyan government’s efforts on projects that encourage the development of human capabilities in higher education institutions. Its support will open up investment prospects to transform education and training through the development of relationships between different industrial sectors, and aligned with the needs of the labor market.
Ultimately, the number of young people and women with skills useful in the labor market is expected to increase, while the number of employed tertiary education graduates is expected to reach 40% in 2028, up from 10% in 2023. Additionally, the number of sustainable businesses that will be created by young people trained in entrepreneurship is expected to increase from 500 in 2023 to 2,000 in 2028.
As of July 2023, the African Development Bank Group’s active portfolio in Kenya included 51 projects with a total commitment of US$4.02 billion.
Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) for the African Development Bank.
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Source : African Media Agency (AMA)